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The energy industry is nearly as hated as the banks. But the Government needs to keep it on side

There's nothing that sparks outrage like a gas and electricity bill. Much to the dismay of the country's "Big Six'"energy suppliers, they risk overtaking the banks as public enemy number one.

But a new YouGov poll shows that, despite the fury, the companies may have a more sympathetic hearing if they managed to explain their side of the story.

YouGov found that 76 per cent of the nation want the Government to do more to crack down on the sector. This is to be expected. Yet when asked what an acceptable profit margin on the average bill would be, nearly one in five people said between 10 to 20 per cent.

British Gas would kill for a margin that high. Sam Laidlaw, the chief executive of British Gas parent Centrica, regularly points out that the supplier's margins bounce around the 5 per cent mark. Npower insists it hasn't made a profit for three years. The industry points out the average annual bill is £1,400, just over £3 a day.

The poll comes at a time when, despite what you may read, the Government needs profitable energy companies more than ever.

Many believe the UK needs to spend £300 billion between now and 2030 to upgrade our energy infrastructure for the future, be that new pipelines or new nuclear power stations.

Already, ministers have quietly shifted many environmental levies onto households through the gas and electricity bills we pay every quarter.

The upwards pressure is only going to increase as Government asks the private sector to find the huge amounts of money to keep the lights on over the coming decade.

Energy executives are fearful that once again they will be bashed to bits in the run-up to the election. The likes of British Gas could do more to help their case, not least on customer service and transparency.

But it would be in ministers' best interests to tone down the public floggings and instead help educate the nation on what is going on.